The Dawn of the New World

It was pretty obvious to see that Mendax belonged to the 'Sect of the Deep' and served the same master as the merman and Lord Aekor. Even though he was supposed to be impartial in his duties as the overseer, there were moments when he simply couldn't help himself...like when their house got a promising new talent in their midst...

"Ahem, g-good. Now that the initial examination is over we will tally up the final rewards," he explained to the other candidates, "The main deciding factor for the rewards depends on how fast you cleared the final trial that led you here. I don't have to point out that it is not JUST about speed but also the level of your attributes when you attempted the trial. The lower your average attributes the higher the reward since it would have been that much more difficult of an endeavor."

"The ranks of your physique, constitution, and soul will be applied at the very end where they will multiply the final rewards by a factor of 1 for a Rare rank, 2 for an Exotic Rank, 4 for a Legendary Rank, and 8 for Mythical since it's so uncommon."

The candidates nodded upon understanding the basic criteria but there was nothing they could do to change anything right now.

"Now then, let's add everything to see how far the first candidate can go!"

Mendax extended both his hands towards the platform and twisted like he was holding onto two indivisible nobs. The outermost ninth circle of the platform vibrated momentarily before releasing nine stone obelisks. They were the same length of approximately 2.74 meters.

The top of each obelisk carried one of the marks of the Nine with an intricate design of runes connecting it to the platform below.

The nine rings simultaneously turned towards the obelisk that held the 'Mark of the Deep' and the runes began lighting from the bottom one by one.

The eyes of all the candidates including Hao Xuan were glued to it.

The process became slower as time went on until the last rune was set alight at around 90% of the way up.

The merman became visibly disheartened when it stopped just before reaching the Mark of the Deep and Hao Xuan couldn't help but inquire why.

[What happens if all the runes are lit up and they reach the mark?] he asked while raising his hand.

Mendax answered with a weak sigh, "Then you can speak directly to the master and perhaps ask for a reward not normally included in the pool," he then glanced towards the merman muttering, "There is still hope," before turning towards Lord Aekor's avatar in the sky.

"Does the patron have any offerings to make?"

Lord Aekor waved his hands and a small clam shot down from the sky like a meteor, landing safely in Mendax's hand.

He pried it open and picked out several red crystals before throwing them at the merman's feet where they were absorbed into the black pool, turning it bloody red.

The obelisk hummed lightly and the runes started lighting up again, soon reaching the 'Mark of the Deep' and igniting it too.

The entire platform shook once as an invisible wave shot out in all directions.

"Congratulations! The sacrifice has been accepted!" Mendax exclaimed.

The merman's frown was turned upside down in an instant as he rejoiced.

"You may speak. If the master deems you worthy your wish will be granted!"

But while the merman tried to come up with something appropriate to ask for Hao Xuan's expression had turned ugly. He could hear the screams of hundreds of trapped souls from those dissolving red crystals.

[A blood sacrifice? What did I expect...] he thought inwardly.

A moment later the merman gestured to Mendax that he had decided on his reward, "What is it, child?"

"Can I have an egg of any legendary beast fit to be my familiar?"

Mendax moved over to the obelisk and ran his fingers through the runes as if he were browsing through a screen.

"Your wish has been granted."

The top of the obelisk opened up to let out a bright blue speck of light that increased in size until it was approximately 30 cm in radius at which point the light receded and a very flimsy-looking pearly white egg fell into the merman's embrace.

Curious, the merman sent a thread of spiritual sense into the egg and his eyes widened from shock.

"THANK YOU SENIOR!" he shouted while bowing from the waist in his excitement.

His overreaction left the other candidates wondering about the origin of the egg but that was all they could do. It was obvious whatever it was, it came from a very powerful bloodline.

Mendax waved his hand nonchalantly, "I am but a vessel, thank the master for it is he who giveth, and he who taketh away."

"I will, senior!" the merman responded respectfully before trying to get out of the platform.